


Roses are green; violets are purple

by lovinglybreex



Category: Teen Titans (Animated Series), Teen Titans (Comics), Teen Titans - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:41:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24983266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovinglybreex/pseuds/lovinglybreex
Summary: Originally uploaded onto www.fanfiction.net under the same pseudonymHere Gar and Raven are both still young; a stumbly, soft slow-burnHe studied her face, noticing – maybe not for the first time – the smooth curve of her cheek, the perfect angle of her chin, her lightly defined cupid's bow. He licked his lips slightly, blinked, shook his head as though to help him clear his thoughts. It's just that damned neurostim.
Relationships: Beastboy/Raven, Garfield Logan/Raven
Kudos: 25





	1. Just a neurostimulant

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This was my first BBxRAE/teen titans fic, originally uploaded first onto fanfiction.net, just moving some stuff over to here so I can try some more mature themes  
> Hope you like!
> 
> Lovingly, Bree

'Uh…Raven? Rae Rae? M-maybe you, you should go to the infirmary? Don't-cha think?'

The green-skinned superhero stared bug-eyed at the usually cool and distant teen that had crawled her way into his lap as he sat in the centre of the towers lounge/communal area, his usual cocky, joking character washed away by complete and utter shock. His hands glued themselves to the sofa cushion either side of him - palms face down, terrified the half-demon would soon shake herself out of her stupor and blame him for her current position.

The group had just returned from a particularly eventful mission where they had come face to face with the HIVEs newest weapon – some kind of chemically engineered neurostim dart targeting the victim's emotions. Robin and Cyborg were currently locked away in the lab, studying the group of evil scientists creation with brilliant attentiveness, being the only two who had not been touched by this manipulative substance – Starfire floated aimlessly a few feet above their heads, uneager to leave the former boy-wonder's side ever since the drug had come into contact with her system. Raven, who had been distracted from her own safety in her attempt to protect her loyal friends and teammates during battle, had received a triple dose of the neurostimulant; and as someone who normally kept her emotions hidden far beneath the surface, the effects appeared much more drastically.

Beast boy had been charged with the responsibility of keeping her inside the tower until the effects of the drug had worn off, rationalising that should be shortly due to her inhuman metabolism and typically excellent control.

'Don't be so worried BB! I feel fine!' Giggled Raven in response, sitting up suddenly to place a pillow in her friend's lap with a snap of dark magic before snuggling back down again. The hood of her cloak fell down to rest against her shoulders as opposed to shrouding her features as it normally did.

Man, I wish she had that thing down more often. She really is gorgeous.

'You know, you're not as squidgy as I'd thought you'd be.'

At this beast boy cocked an eyebrow, 'Oh yeah? I'll have you know I'm the definition of peak fitness, thank you very much. You're just too hard-headed.'

This earned him yet another giggle from the grey-toned girl snuggled against him 'That expression isn't literal.'

'Oh. Well you are anyways, literally and figuratively.'

'Ooh big word there BB,' Raven crooned, 'Perhaps there really is such thing as brains and brawn.'

Their gentle teasing continued for an hour or so until the girls amethyst eyes began to close, a content smile tugging at her lips.

'Goodnight Rae Rae.' The boy whispered, surprised to hear her murmur back a goodnight of her own, even more surprised to hear her mumble something about how much she liked his nickname for her, but it brought a small smirk to his lips all the same.

The shapeshifter looked down at the sorceress cocooned against him, surprised to find that his fingers had intertwined themselves in her purple-hued hair, but still took satisfaction in the sensation as he let a silky strand slide through his fingers before gently brushing it back out again. It had been incredibly unnerving, at first, to hear Raven giggle, and down-right bizarre to hear her refer to him as 'BB' but the more he thought about it, the more saddened he was to think that he may not hear it again once this drug has made its way out of her system. It was the kind of laugh that made you smile too; giving you a warm-fuzzy feeling each time you heard it. Infectious. Addictive. Beast boy felt so much closer to Raven than he ever had before in their previous years together; more than just physically.

He could hear both her breathing and heart-rate slow as she drifted further into sleeps embrace, that small smile still playing on her lips. He wondered what she was dreaming of. He could smell her lavender shampoo and the essential oils and incense that had long since embedded itself in her cloak, aiding in her daily meditations. He began to relax, letting himself enjoy the feeling of her warm body pressed against his. He studied her face, noticing – maybe not for the first time – the smooth curve of her cheek, the perfect angle of her chin, her lightly defined cupids bow.

He licked his lips slightly, blinked, shook his head as though to help him clear his thoughts.

It's just that damned neurostim.

And finally, he too, drifted off to sleep, but that image – of the purple-haired girl smiling slightly in her sleep, the moonlight bouncing off her smooth-grey skin – did not disappear from behind his eyes.


	2. Admission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapters a little short, the rest are more consistent I promise  
> I'm just going to be uploading this fic all at once so for the rest of the chapters I won't be including chapter summary or notes
> 
> Lovingly, Bree

Raven awoke with a definite knot in her neck. She sat up slowly, reaching up to massage the tense muscle, almost elbowing Beast boy in the face in the process. She froze. Beast boy? The young teen let out a groan as she recalled the battle from a few hours prior, the swell of emotions that flooded through her as HIVEs latest weapon tipped the balance. Her cheeks flushed rouge as a stream of memories trickled through her mind:

Hugging each member of her team furiously after they had escaped HIVEs attack, flinging herself at beast boy and holding on just a second too long, practically begging her teammates to go to the beach, the arcade, the fairground, attempting to drag Starfire to the mall and tears of frustration and anger almost spilling when she was forced back to the tower anyway; spouting nonsensical babble on the way home…

You could definitely say it had been a roller-coaster of emotions.

The green teen shivered beside her, apparently suffering from the absence of her body heat and with a small sigh Raven snuggled back down, laying on her back to gaze idly at his features. A small patch of drool dampened the pillow supporting him, the childish-ness of it and his cute fang protruding his lip contrasting against the defined line of his jaw. He had certainly grown up over the last few years, his voice becoming deeper, even with a slight growl to it, he was now one of the tallest of the titans, second only to cyborg; and all that training had assuredly paid off – his shoulders broadening and his muscles clearly defined underneath his tight uniform. Beast boy had gotten…hot. The titan quickly reprimanded herself for thinking that way. Besides, these weren't the things that drew her to the green morphling the most anyway, it was his mega-watt grin, how sweet he could be when he wanted to be (like the times he would get up early to make her morning herbal tea, without putting salt in it) it was the way he always tried to include her, even when she lashed out and the other titans had given up, his loyalty, his bravery and strength. In all his infuriating teasing and completely unfunny jokes. In how strongly he felt each and every emotion. Raven had grown much more empathetic since Trigons defeat, but she often tried to block this part of herself out. It was scary – downright terrifying, going from restricting all her emotions to feeling everyone else's as well as her own – But she could never quite manage to tune out of Beast boy's. Subconsciously, maybe she didn't want to.

She would never admit it, but she could already feel the effects of the tonic wearing off by the time they had gotten back to the tower. It would have been easy to throw off the onslaught of happiness and affection, go to her room meditate, perhaps make herself some herbal tea or have a hot bath, but Raven had chosen not to. She didn't want to. It had been too easy for her to submerge herself in the feeling, it wasn't often – or at all – that she allowed herself to behave this way, it felt good, and with the promise of a valid excuse the next day, she caved.


	3. Chamomile tea

'Good morning, lovebirds!' Their semi-robotic friend called out from the adjoining kitchen, as he popped a frying pan on the hob, 'We came to check on you two last night but you were just cuddled up together oh-so sweetly that we decided to leave you be.'

Garfield rubbed at his eyes groggily. The sun had barely risen. 'Shut up, tin can.' He yawned with an arch of his back, rewarding himself with a series of satisfying crackles, followed by a dull thud. Still half asleep, he looked around confusedly for the source of the noise.

The sensation of falling, swiftly followed by a sharp impact against her right hip flung the half-demon into consciousness.

'Beast Boy!' Shrieked Raven accusingly from the ground.

Realising what he had done, a wave of panic swept visibly through Beast boy's body. He was definitely awake now.

'Ra-' He began, leaping up from his seat, but before he could even stutter out the first syllable of his apology, Raven had disappeared through a dark portal with nothing but a snap of her fingers and an icy glare at the man who had just chucked her onto the ground.

With a small choking noise, the offending man turned to his friend for help yet, although Cyborgs eyes mirrored the same shock that was still present in his own, his lips quivered with an evident battle to hold back his laughter.

'Dude, you better pray she has some of that happy potion left in her.'

Shortly after, Beast boy knocked tentatively at the purple-haired girl's door, letting out a breath he didn't know he had been holding when it swung open to reveal Raven floating a few feet off the ground, legs crossed in meditation rather than with additional eyes glowing red. She peered questioningly at the tray he held in his jade green hands.

'Don't worry Rae-Rae, I didn't make it, just stole it off Cyborg as a peace offering…although I suppose it isn't much of peace offering if I didn't make it myself…' He trailed off, but his usual mega-watt grin quickly returned as he added brightly, 'I made the tea though! With salt and everything, just how you like it.'

The sorceress continued to stare, wordlessly. So, unsure what else to do, Gar slowly walked forward into her room, placed the tray of breakfast goodies on the floor beside her, and rubbing the back of his neck, perched nervously on the edge of the mattress. His expression turned serious.

'Oh Azar.' thought Raven, and she floated herself back down to sit by him, cape hanging loosely behind her shoulders.

'Are you feeling any better? More yourself – I mean.'

The soft-spoken question surprised her a little and the Titan blinked rapidly a few times – clearing affections purr of not with you here from her head before responding carefully. 'I didn't send you into another realm for tossing me to the ground this morning.' Her expression remained blank.

The green boy beside her chuckled slightly, 'Hm, guess there's still some happy potion left in you after all…I really am sorry Rae, 'pose it's not every day I wake up with a pretty girl in my lap.'

'Talk about a rude-awakening huh?' He snickered.

Raven didn't even have to try and conceal her amusement at his dumb joke as she usually did, she was too preoccupied trying to control the inner turmoil Beast boy had just elicited between herself, timid, and two of her other emotions, brave and affection.

Did he really think of her as pretty?

Raven slowly reached down to pick up the lilac china that beast boy had brought to her, hoping its soothing chamomile contents would relax her. She took a small, cautious sip, holding it in her mouth for a second to make sure that there wasn't actually any salt to sabotage its subtle apple flavour. It was the perfect sweetness. Her eyes smiled lazily at him over the rim of her mug.

A small half-smile played briefly across his lips, before the green teen turned to lock his earnest emerald eyes with his friend's amethyst.

'Raven, do you remember what happened yesterday?'

She nodded.

'Last night?'

She felt the start of a blush warming her skin but her expression remained neutral as she nodded again.

'Do you – Do you remember what you said?'

Panic. What she had said? What had she said? She definitely didn't feel herself now. Raven's eyes flickered slightly as she struggled to recall their conversation from the night before, praying to Azar that she hadn't revealed anything too awful, praying harder that she hadn't revealed how she truly felt about the green changeling to her left.

Beast boy couldn't contain his laughter any longer, all but clutching his stomach, he slowly regained his composure to smirk victoriously at the seething half-demon hovering above him once more.

He had heard the acceleration of her pounding heart, could practically taste her panic and smell the salty-sweetness of the precipitation building on the back of her neck and her now clammy palms. Perhaps he liked winding her up a little too much. It was just too hard to resist.

'Don't worry mama, you never said anything too scandalous.' The soon to be changeling said with a wiggle of his eyebrows as he began to make his exit.

Reaching the threshold of Raven Roth's room, he looked back over his shoulder with an apologetic smile 'Sorry Rae Rae.'

His smile spread as he received the response that he had been hoping for.

'My names Raven.'

'Uh-uh.' He scolded, 'You told me last night just how much you love my little nicknames for you.'

'I guess you did tell me a little something…'

And with that, he left, leaving an incredibly flushed sorceress staring after him, lips parted.


	4. Associated colours

Beast boy wandered back to the lounge, plopping himself back down on the sofa where himself and their resident princess of Azarath had been nestled merely a few hours before. He plucked a purple cushion from its residency on the floor. It smelt like lavender and chamomile. Seemingly without thought, he hugged it tight against his chest, getting drunk off its soothing scent.

'Cy?' He called out, 'I'm gonna make a right mess of this.'

A few days later, the teen titans found themselves squished together in a small booth in the back corner of their local pizza parlour, Starfire and Robin sat on one side – pressed against each other more than was really necessary – and opposite them was Raven, trapped between the bulky metal frame of cyborg and the slightly less bulky figure of Garfield Logan. It had been beast boy's turn to cook that night, and so naturally, he had somehow charmed his way into a free meal for the five of them. They were eating out in celebration after all, of – what, exactly? None of the Titans were really sure, but when the waitress reappeared with plates of cheesy goodness, none of them really cared either.

Halfway through their meal, two young girls ran up to the group, squealing excitedly. The elder of the two, perhaps around 14-15 asked for a picture with them all, and posed with her friend with matching beams on their faces, she then immediately flung herself at Starfire, chattering excitedly about how cool it was that she was 'all feminine and pink' at the same time as being a 'total badass'. Her patchy pink locks were clearly in imitation of the Tamaranian's own. The second of the two girls appeared to be a little more reserved.

'Uh – sorry to interrupt your meal,' She began politely, 'Could you please sign this for me?' She waved a menu in her left hand.

Beast boy was surprised to find that the question was directed at him, but soon recovered and began chatting with the brunette girl – who he learned was named Rachel – as he scrawled his name and even drew a little picture on the paper she had given him, before passing it around to his teammates to also sign. Rachel stared at him with glazed eyes, blatantly star-struck.

Her friend giggled, 'Don't mind Ray, she has a bit of a crush on you…'

'Ray' turned as red as the summer dress she wore and began to splutter out a protest but was swiftly interrupted.

'You do too!' She teased, 'You said so when we were playing 21 questions last week!' Rachel, however, had already taken her now signed menu back with a small eye-roll and a bright thank you to the Titans and rushed back to their own table.

The group of friends chuckled lightly and continued with their meal, more than accustomed to similar interruptions. Starfire, on the other hand, clearly had something on her mind.

'Friends? How do you play the game of the 21 questions?'

After a short description from Cyborg, Star giggled in delight. 'Oh that sounds most wonderous! Please may we play?'

Both Raven and Robin were hesitant to take part in the game, neither of them being one to enjoy sharing, but equally neither of them wanted to disappoint their pink-haired alien friend, and so they agreed.

Beast boy, already planning ways to annoy their leader through this game, and potentially to learn something new about their most distant teammate, made a suggestion. 'I think we should all answer every question! Rae, cast a truth spell.'

Starfire went first, 'hmm…what is everyone's favourite things to be doing?'

'Spending time with you, Star.' Came Robin's immediate reply, glaring at Raven as he remembered her truth spell, but his gaze softened as Starfire excitedly announced that that is one of her favourite times too.

'Cooking.' Said Cyborg plainly

'Obviously annoying Raven here.' Laughed the green Titan, lazily stretching an arm – which Raven quickly threw off – behind her head. 'Oh come on mama you know you love it.'

'Maybe meeting all my adoring fans like so.' Beast boy sighed, wiggling his eyebrows as he gestured over to where Rachel and her pink-haired friend were sat, still staring at him intently.

Raven's mind briefly flickered the other night, falling asleep encased in Beast boys arms...she was not going to say that.

'When we're all in the common room doing our own things, but together.' Raven answered cooly, to instant teasing from beast boy.

The game continued like this for a short while, each titan taking their turn to ask an innocent question, light-hearted teasing and ripples of laughter flowing between them.

'Favourite colour?' Pink, red, blue, green, purple. The Azarethan and the shapeshifter paused, each wondering when the others associated colour had become their favourite.

Then things began to feel a little more intimate.

'Biggest fear?'

Most of the titans murmured in agreement their fear of being abandoned once more, Starfire also adding that she was not a fan of 'the small spaces'

'Myself.' Muttered Raven and Beast boy in unison, wearing matching looks of surprise on their faces when they turned to look at each other, holding their gaze for almost a full minute before Beast boy broke the connection, running his hands through his forest green hair.

'Well, the beast anyways.' He corrected

'My demon half...'

Cyborg quickly fractured the silence in an attempt to draw the attention off of his best friend and prevent this sombre mood from spreading 'Which Titan do you think is the most attractive?' He winked, 'Personally I think bumblebee is quite good lookin''

'Raven.' Stated beast boy matter of factly, pretending he couldn't still feel her amethyst eyes burning holes into the side of his face with a sad smile shaping her features. 'Have you seen those legs?' He joked.

Robin and Starfire quickly said that they each thought the other to be the most attractive, both wearing a vibrant blush on their respective faces.

'I think you're the most attractive, Beast boy.' Said Raven softly, surprising the poor boy so much he choked on his drink, and as a result spilling it all over his lap.

A pile of napkins encased in dark energy floated over to him as the sorceress struggled to hide her barely contained smirk.


	5. Time to think

There hadn't been a crime alert in several days. Beast boy sat, legs crossed and head in hands in the centre of his uncharacteristically tidy bedroom – not that his room was usually all that messy, at least not compared to how he used to keep it. As Beast boy had matured and his already advanced senses developed further, he had found that he had to keep his room much tidier than he had previously since the smell would become unbearably strong to him, even as far as keeping him awake at night, just in a matter of days. But at present, his room couldn't be described as anything other than immaculate.

Freshly pressed white linen sheets were tucked tidily under the edges of his mattress, his biology, zoology and mathematics books were piled in perfect right angles and perpendicular to the few other items placed carefully on his desk. He had long since been regarded as one of the lesser intelligent members of the team, but this had never bothered him – he knew he wasn't as articulate as Raven or as mechanically-minded as Cyborg, wouldn't ever be strategical as Robin, or have as much of an insatiable curiosity as Star. But he liked science. It made him feel closer to his parents, in a way. He glanced up at the hand-made instruments suspended from his wall, recalling with a nostalgic smile memories of his father's mini lectures on frequency and soundwaves as he slowly sculpted them out from wood.

Besides, knowing a lot about animal biology and nature would only allow him to further utilise his powers.

The videogames in the bookshelf on his back wall had been rearranged alphabetically (sub-characterised by colour) the retro-style arcade game next to it newly polished. He had even cleaned his windows, taking hours to do so as he struggled - in the form of a feathery green eagle - to hold the squeegee in his beak. Anything, to keep a certain pale-skinned, purple-haired sorceress out of his head. She had been driving him beyond insanity lately, or rather he drove himself, thinking about her.

He just couldn't seem to shake that image from his head. Raven Roth. Asleep in his lap. Looking 30 times more beautiful than any other woman he had ever laid eyes upon.

He'd even tried talking to Cyborg about it, obviously excluding the part about recently realising how stunning the half-demon really is, but was only met with laugher.

'Dude, have you really never thought about why you like irritating her so much?'

Garfield groaned, he felt as though he had been thinking way too much. He had to talk to someone about this. Not Cy, despite being his best friend he knew he wasn't ready for the inevitable teasing just yet. He needed to get his head around things first. Perhaps…Robin? He really was an excellent strategist…maybe he could help him figure out if he should talk to Raven, what he would say if he finally worked up the courage…

And clearly a sudden infatuation for a fellow teammate was something the pair held in common -

Star!

Of course! Second only to Beast boy, she spent a considerable amount of time attempting to include Raven, even if the two only ever seemed to irritate her further. She was sure to know more about Rae than Cyborg or Nightwing combined!

With that thought, the young changeling pushed himself from his bedroom floor, and made his way to Starfire's bedroom.

Star's door swung open instantly

'Dear Beast boy!' she cried excitedly, 'It is most unusual for you to come looking for me here! But how wonderful! I was just wishing that someone would come to keep my companies!' and she grabbed him by the arm, using a little too much of her alien strength in her eagerness and as a result causing Beast boy to almost fall face down on her fuzzy, pink carpeted floor as he tripped on a singular, oversized plush bear that was apparently guarding her door. He wasn't sure if he had ever been in Star's room before, but he was almost taken aback by how much time she had clearly put into decorating it: a jumble of floral bunting and fairy lights weaved themselves through the bed frame, an assortment of unusual but charming and intricate ornaments obscured the surface of her shelves – clearly some of Star's memorabilia of her home planet, a breath taking hand-painted mural of a pastel sky brimming with fluffy clouds and streams of golden sunlight adorned a feature wall. It looked like something out of one of those fairy-tale books that Rita had insisted on showing him during his early days in the doom patrol. He briefly wondered if Robin had been keeping her locked in here, like Rapunzel painting her own murals in her tower. Her hair is almost that long, how does she ever even manage to fight with all that in her face anyway?

'Star…this is insane!' breathed the young changeling, spinning in a circle as he took in his new surroundings. His eyes came to rest on the litter of pictures on the wall beside Starfire's bed as he finished his rotation. A touched smile graced his features and warmth flooded through him as he saw the images of himself and his four closest friends smiling back at him. Then one particular picture caught his eye. Him and Raven, the day of HIVEs latest attack, cuddled together on the sofa, fast asleep.

His eyes stretched wide! 'Starfire! Where did you get that! Raven would be so ma-'

She cut him off with a giggle, 'Do not worry, friend beast boy! Cyborg took it when we had come to see if you two were alright…' the Tamaranian continued to off-handidly explain why she wasn't concerned with Raven seeing it before briskly adding 'but that is why you came to see me, no? To discuss friend Raven.'

The boy paled. How did she just know that? Was the whole tower aware that he'd spent the last three days willowing in his self-pity and confused emotions for Raven? Brilliant.

He tugged absentmindedly on his forest green hair, only now realising he didn't actually know what he wanted to say. 'Uh, yeah, I s'pose.'

'I dunno, Star, I can't seem to get her out of my head…and you know, you're a girl, and one of Raven's best friends, so I figured you'd know about these things.'

'She's just so beautiful, and smart, and strong, and powerful, and I know I probably just annoy her but sometimes when I make some dumb joke or make a fool out of myself I catch her with a little half-smile on her face, and I don't think she realises that I notice but I do, and it just makes me feel so much lighter, if that even makes sense at all. I know she can be difficult or distant but I know for a fact that she feels just as much as the rest of us, if not more so…she's so passionate, and kind, she's just afraid. And that breaks my heart because out of everyone I know, she's the most deserving of happiness. She's just been through so much, and more than that, she's been completely alone in it all. So recently I've been thinking, like a lot actually, that maybe there's a reason I always get on her nerves. Yeah, I mean, as her friend, I always want Raven to be included, but man, maybe it really just bums me out when she actually isn't there. Maybe I just really like being around her. I don't want her to be on her own anymore…' He chuckled to himself slightly, and lightly touched the polaroid with the tip of a single green finger. 'Seeing her face all screwed up or her cheeks flushed when I wind her up…' He gestured again to the picture, 'And I know Raven doesn't feel the same, and I mean yeah it was weird for a minute, because that was so not a Raven thing to do, but it just felt so nice being that close with her – I want to feel that again.'

Starfire had sat quietly listening to Beast boy up until then, letting him muddle through his own thoughts and emotions out loud, waiting for him to finally reach that crystal clear conclusion unaided, until she heard this.

'You do not think that Raven feels the same because of HIVEs drug?'

The unexpected question shocked the green teenager for a second, he had almost forgotten that Starfire was there.

'Well, no. It was obviously messing with her head. Raven would never do something like that.'

'Tell me, Beast boy, you and I were both also affected by the chemicals. Did you feel anything that went against how you normally do?'

Beast boy fell quiet.

'You did not. I did not. Raven did not. Raven was only unable to supress her true emotions as she usually does…'

'Do you not recall friend Raven's answers at the game of the 21 questions? She enjoys being around you, her favourite colour is your green, she thinks you are the most attractive of the Titans…'

Starfire continued like this for some while, somehow able to easily relate every single one of Ravens 21 answers back to the emerald-eyed boy beside her.

'Star…I think I really like her.'

'Beast boy…I think so too.'


	6. Warm white affection

Dinner was quieter than usual that night. Beast boy, who could usually be held accountable for the majority of the chatter, was much more subdued than usual. Naturally, this out-of-character behaviour caught the attention and concern of his friends, all except Starfire who simply smiled knowingly at the shapeshifter after their previous conversation, planning a little intervention of her own.

'Man, are you okay? You're kinda freaking me out a little.'

'Just havin' a think dude.' He responded in his usual chipper tone, easing his teammates shared concern but doing little to reduce the unnerving atmosphere.

Raven almost asked him what was wrong on more than one occasion, despite her empathetic abilities, the emotions he radiated bewildered her - to say the least. He wasn't sad. The tell-tale heat of anger was absent, although there was a small bubble of frustration. Excitement – no, anticipation? Perhaps both. Then, Beast boy gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing visibly beneath the thinner skin of his throat, allowing Raven to finally place his ruling emotion – nerves. He was nervous? She had never felt Beast boy's – or anyone's, for that matter - emotions to be so fast moving. Perhaps he's ADHD she thought absentmindedly, that would make sense, actually.

A thick blanket of insecurity – not her own – now encased the young empath, and she could've sworn she felt her heart physically jerk in sympathy as she fought the urge to throw herself across the table and encase him in her pale arms. Why on Earth and Azarath combined was he feeling so apprehensive? 

Sensing her scrutinising inquiry from across the table, Gar looked up to meet the empath's amethyst gaze and smiled, not flashing her with his trademark mega-watt grin, but something softer…sweeter.

Reflexively, she returned with one of her own, silently praying it went unnoticed by the other three titans and he was grateful his green complexion helped disguise the soft warmth he could feel sneaking to his cheeks.

An almost overwhelming surge of warm-white fuzzy affection surged through the sorceress and she mentally rolled her eyes at her emoticlones, disregarding the sensation as purely her own.

Raven, regardless of her powers – which usually meant day-to-day tasks and chores such as washing the dishes took a mere minute or so at most – barely had time to finish drying the plates before a certain pink-haired alien impatiently grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her away from the sink.

'I have a question!' She stated excitedly.

Her cool-toned friend smiled amusedly, the left corner of her lips twitching as she quickly attempted to repress it.

'I believe you should be more open with your emotions.'

'Not a question, Star.' Hollered Cyborg from the lounge, where he and Robin were watching the two girls with mild interest. They both ignored the interruption, Raven waiting patiently for the speech she knew was coming, having heard it from the girl many times previously.

'You do not need to supress your feelings anymore since the defeat of Trigon, correct?' Without pausing for response, she continued. 'However, even before Trigon's control over you had been eliminated your powers only ever became uncontrollable when you were experiencing negative emotions: fear, anger…'

The sorceress shuffled uncomfortably, lips pursed but her expression otherwise remaining neutral. Her feet, however, rest firmly on the ground as supposed to levitating a few inches above as they typically did.

Okay, maybe this isn't her usual spiel. 

'You have always been taught to stifle all the emotions, therefore you truly don't know how dangerous they would be, if at all. You are scared that people may get hurt if you do not control it – but the fear is all that has caused hurt.'

'Why do you wear the cloak only?' It was true that the rest of the team had long since stopped wearing their uniform when not on mission, preferring to instead adopt a more 'civilian' style, yet Raven was still yet to try something new, being much more hesitant than her friends to step away from her cloak and leotard.

The half-demoness wasn't quite sure how to respond, she merely stared evenly at the pink haired Tamaranian before her and shook her head slightly, doing her best to ignore the intent stares of the two boys practically cowering on the sofa in the background.

'It's a shield, a comfort blanket. You have always been afraid of your powers, of your heritage – of who you are. It's time to embrace it.'

'I think she's right,' A soft-spoken voice came from the doorway, grabbing the attention of the other four inhabitants in the tower. The green skinned speaker practically flinched as he locked eyes with the girl in question, only to find them brimming with tears, and he found himself moving towards her – not to touch, although he did want to – but just to be near to her, and smiled warmly. 'You deserve it Rae, to just be you. Give yourself a chance.'

'And if you blow anything up I vow to take full responsibility, even if it's me you blow up – which it probably would be.' He joked.

From across the room, Cyborg spoke up. 'You managed not to blow anything up the other day anyway, not even BB, 'n' you were all kinds of all-over-the-place happy - pumped full of HIVEs chemicals and shit too.'

The remaining Titans shared a smile, and Raven laughed, not bothering to hide the tear she wiped from her eye as she did so.

'So what's it, Star? Are you going to drag me off for a makeover now or what?'


	7. Sun and moon

'I still can't believe you're here voluntarily.'

Raven tried a small smile and glanced up at Robin as she responded. 'Yeah – me neither, but - I think you guys are right, so this seems like a good place to start.' There wasn't a lot of conviction in her eyes, however, as she turned to face Starfire's manic grin. 

'It is!' squealed Koriand'r, practically shoving her way out of the T-car in her excitement and swiftly grabbing Raven by the wrist to drag her to the entrance of the large, glass façade building stretched out before them, chunky white letters spelling out 'jump city parade' staring down.

Robin and Beastboy piled out of the car to follow the two girls, while cyborg shouted something about his baby needing repairs and swiftly drove away.

'So, where to, mama?'

The purple haired Azareathan looked nervously about the swarms of people and countless stores surrounding her, and then back to her three friends. Robin wore a grey turtle neck and jeans, white trainers tied with the laces tucked in while beastboy had donned a darker look in black jeans and a slightly oversized black hoodie, paired with some checkerboard vans – Raven couldn't help but note how the dark tones complimented his skin, or how his forest green hair stuck to his forehead slightly after being dampened by the light drizzle on the way in. Star was sporting a comfortable looking burgundy sweater, one side slipping down to expose the smooth skin of her shoulder and the lace of her bralette. All of their choices seemed so…them. Raven had never really thought about it, but wearing the same thing everyday doesn't give many opportunities to think about your own style. She looked down at her outfit , her usual plain black leotard and a borrowed pair of Star's 'skinny' jeans – which felt way too thick and restrictive on her legs compared to her typical attire.

Her apprehension must've been apparent as the others jumped in quickly with their suggestions.

'Don't worry Raven, just try whatever feels like you.'

'Yeah, I'm thinking 90s grunge with a bit of a hippie twist, you know 'cus of all your meditation and oils and things.'

'Just get what you think is the good.' Added Starfire simply.

The group spent the majority of the day wandering through stores, sometimes as a group, often in pairs – each person wanting a turn to help raven find something she loved – frequently meeting back up for snacks and drinks.

With Starfire, Raven picked out a handful of bralettes, simple crop tops, a gorgeous oversized, brown corduroy jacket that she had instantly fallen in love with, and a few sets of leggings and sports bras for training. However, the tamaranian's favourite find for her friend was a simple black dress with a patterning of lilac flowers, a lilac tee to pair just as the mannequin had modelled.

Robin helped the young hero find her size in a pair of chunky signature Doc marten boots and a pair of platform white converse, in addition to a series of striped or sheer black long sleeved tops, insisting that layering was the way forward. Their leader also pointed her towards a selection of maxi skirts, since the shape and length would feel more comfortable to her, being similar to her cloak, as opposed to the tight jeans she was currently uncomfortable in.

When it came to beastboy helping, it felt as though the duo had spent considerably more time wandering around talking and teasing each other than actually shopping, but when they decided to find somewhere to eat and Raven looked down at her haul, she realised how much they had actually gotten – shopping with the others had definitely been successful, and a lot of fun, but shopping with Garfield had been too easy, every item he picked up she absolutely adored, almost as though he knew her better than she knew herself, and she had definitely spent way too much for one day of shopping. The couple had picked up a black and white checkerboard hoodie, a handful of plaid or silk shirts, a pair of dark wash denim shorts, a small collection of pullovers and turtlenecks, a black denim skirt, two pairs of cargo pants, one in black, one in lilac, and finally a pair of vintage-looking 'mom' style jeans that felt much more comfortable on than Star's borrowed pair and beast boy mentally noted, somehow look almost as good on her as just the leotard.

They found a small café and sat at a table, almost losing it under the cascade of shopping bags.

'Do you want me to call the others?'

Beastboy shook his head, his expression suddenly turning serious as he pinched his bottom lip between tooth and fang, watching the girl opposite him with careful eyes. 'Not just yet.' He leaned down and retrieved something small from one of their many bags and plopped it gently into Raven's open purple-haired girl eyed him, an eyebrow raised questioningly, and she flipped the lid of the box open to reveal the most beautiful pair of earrings she had ever seen in her life, they were mismatched, a dangling sun and moon in an intricate coppery gold. He had rarely seen her wearing earrings, and certainly never anything as bold as these, but they were so undoubtedly Raven. He measured her reaction for a second before he began to speak.

'I really do think you should try more stuff Rae Rae, like get out of your comfort zone a bit more you know?' He let out a big breathy sigh, and rubbing his hand against the nape of his neck, continued, 'So, speaking of giving new things a chance…I like you.'

His heart seemed to squeeze in one nervous palpitation; a period to punctuate the end of his declaration. She hadn't tossed him into another dimension just yet.

'What?' The single word was breathed weakly, shock etching its mark on the young girls features, eyes wide, fingers still gripping tightly around the little grey box on the edge of the table.

'I like you. A lot. As in cant-stop-thinking-about-you Robin over Starfire level of emotion, and I want us to be more than what we are now. I really like you, Raven.'

'What?' the titan repeated, earning a low chuckle from the green eyed teen. 'I mean, are you serious?'

He sat up, leaning across the table so that their hands were almost touching and their faces inches apart. His breath tickled her nose as he spoke.

'Can't you tell that I'm serious, miss empath?'

The empath merely spluttered in response, blurting out a concoction of 'On Azar's and 'If you're messing with me's but the young changeling simply moved towards her in one swift, firm motion, effectively cutting her off. She gasped against his lips.

'Garfield!'

Garfield leaned back in his chair, meeting her gaze with a considerably neutral expression, despite the blush building on his cheeks.

'You can't just do that! My powers-'

The green titan feigned looking around earnestly, 'Cafes still standing.'

The Azareathan gaped at him incredulously, but then her expression softened and a black fist of energy appeared between them, intertwining it's fingers with the fabric of Beastboy's hoodie and pulling him in until their lips met once more. Soft and sweet.

'Hey Gar…I really like you too, for awhile now.'

The shapeshifter let out a small laugh and pulled back, coiling his fingers around the pretty girl's in front of him, 'Good, imagine how badly I could've just fucked that one up…so, do you like them?'

'The earrings.' He clarified in response to her confused expression with a small nod to the box still clasped in her hand.

'They're beautiful.' She beamed, eliciting a brilliant smile from the green shapeshifter.

'You can call Dick and Kori now.'

Their two friends appeared in front of them a few moments later, only the former boy wonder seeming surprised to find them hand in hand, although not shocked or confused – and didn't make comment as he took his place at the table (beside Raven, and opposite Kori with a view of all the rowdy shoppers on the floor below).

The pink-haired alien instantly pinpointed the box, now released and placed carefully on the table's smooth wooden countertop, but was quickly snatched back up.

'Friend beastboy! You got these for Raven? How romantic! I never thought you would've done it so well-'She continued to gush, and she was the first to announce the good news when they arrived back home at titans tower that night.

'Man, I knew you had it bad,' Said Cyborg in response, with a smirk towards his best friend, completely unsurprised by the development.

Later, the purple-haired titan was sorting through her new possessions when there was a small knock at her door, she waved it open with a flick of dark energy to reveal their team leader, who handed her yet another bag which contained a large bundle of graphic tees.

'Me and Kori picked them for you earlier.'

Raven accepted the clothing items gratefully, taking each one from the brown paper bag individually in order to appreciate their designs, and thanking Robin turned to smile down at what was by far her favourite thing that she had gotten today - asleep on her bed alongside the piles of clothes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, yeah...  
> This fic is one to reflect their ages - the teasing that doesn't really make sense, gossipping back and forth between friends; silly games, overdramatic/romantic gifts etc (thank you TV, no boy is ever going to be as romantic as my 14 year old relationships!!)  
> puppy love, and all that 
> 
> as anyone that's read my stories on other platforms knows - advice, suggestions; requests are all very much welcome!  
> thank you if you've stuck this far!
> 
> lovingly, bree


End file.
